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Life strategy and diet of Calanus glacialis during the winter–spring transition in Amundsen Gulf, south-eastern Beaufort Sea

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Abstract

The copepod Calanus glacialis plays a key role in the lipid-based energy flux in Arctic shelf seas. By utilizing both ice algae and phytoplankton, this species is able to extend its growth season considerably in these seasonally ice-covered seas. This study investigated the impacts of the variability in timing and extent of the ice algal bloom on the reproduction and population success of C. glacialis. The vertical distribution, reproduction, amount of storage lipids, stable isotopes, fatty acid and fatty alcohol composition of C. glacialis were assessed during the Circumpolar Flaw Lead System Study. Data were collected in the Amundsen Gulf, south-eastern Beaufort Sea, from January to July 2008 with the core-sampling from March to April. The reduction in sea ice thickness and coverage observed in the Amundsen Gulf in 2007 and 2008 affected the life strategy and reproduction of C. glacialis. Developmental stages CIII and CIV dominated the overwintering population, which resulted in the presence of very few CV and females during spring 2008. Spawning began at the peak of the ice algal bloom that preceded the precocious May ice break-up. Although the main recruitment may have occurred later in the season, low abundance of females combined with a potential mismatch between egg production/development to the first feeding stage and phytoplankton bloom resulted in low recruitment of C. glacialis in the early summer of 2008.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the ArcticNet Network of Centres of Excellence of Canada and the organizers of the CFL project for giving us the opportunity to participate in this project. We thank the International Polar Year (IPY) Canada, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada and Canadian Museum of Nature for their financial support. B. Philippe received a scholarship from ISMER and financial support from the Northern Scientific Training Program (NSTP) of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada for fieldwork. We are grateful to the crew onboard the CCGS Amundsen for their dedicated help with the sampling during leg 7 and offer special thanks to Brigitte Robineau, Catherine Lalande and Luc Michaud for their assistance in the field. This project was funded by the Norwegian Research Council (Project no. 178766/S30) as part of the Norwegian contribution to the International Polar Year (IPY 2007–2009) and by Statoil through the Statoil—ARCTOS Arctic Research Program (SAARP). We would also like to thank Malin Daase for help with figures and the reviewers for their constructive comments and recommendations.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Norwegian Polar Institute, 9296, Tromsø, Norway

    Anette Wold, Eva Leu & Stig Falk-Petersen

  2. Canada Research Chair on the response of Arctic marine ecosystems to climate change, Québec-Océan, Département de biologie, Université Laval, 1045 avenue de la Médecine, Québec, QC, G1V 0A6, Canada

    Gérald Darnis & Louis Fortier

  3. University Centre in Svalbard, PB 156, 9171, Longyearbyen, Norway

    Janne E. Søreide

  4. Institut des sciences de la mer, Université du Québec à Rimouski, Rimouski, QC, G5L 3Al, Canada

    Benoit Philippe

  5. Research Division, Canadian Museum of Nature, PO Box 3443, Station D, Ottawa, ON, K1P 6P4, Canada

    Michel Poulin

  6. Alfred-Wegener-Institut für Polar- und Meeresforschung, Am Handelshafen 12, 27570, Bremerhaven, Germany

    Gerhard Kattner & Martin Graeve

  7. Department of Arctic and Marine Biology-BFE, University of Tromsø, 9037, Tromsø, Norway

    Stig Falk-Petersen

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  1. Anette Wold
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  2. Gérald Darnis
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  3. Janne E. Søreide
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  4. Eva Leu
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  5. Benoit Philippe
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  6. Louis Fortier
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  7. Michel Poulin
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  8. Gerhard Kattner
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  9. Martin Graeve
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  10. Stig Falk-Petersen
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Correspondence to Anette Wold.

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This article belongs to the special issue “Circumpolar Flaw Lead Study (CFL)”, coordinated by J. Deming and L. Fortier.

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Wold, A., Darnis, G., Søreide, J.E. et al. Life strategy and diet of Calanus glacialis during the winter–spring transition in Amundsen Gulf, south-eastern Beaufort Sea. Polar Biol 34, 1929–1946 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-011-1062-6

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